


The truth is rarely pure and never simple.

by lydiamxrtin



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:34:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26151184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lydiamxrtin/pseuds/lydiamxrtin
Summary: A series of times Arthur noticed Merlin's magic but couldn't believe it because Merlin couldn't be a sorcerer right?
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41





	The truth is rarely pure and never simple.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, so this is my first Merlin/Merthur fic and I'm really excited to start this series! THANK YOU to @bellamyblakru talking with me about this idea I will DIE on this hill that Arthur deep, deep down had some idea about Merlin's magic but just didn't want to believe it. This fic wouldn't have come to fruition without you so thank youuu 💞 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it and let me know if you have any comments!
> 
> ALSO This first chapter takes place during s1 sometime.
> 
> -AJ

Arthur tracked through the forest, his spear in his hand. Arthur treaded quietly through the bushes as the deer calmly grazed up ahead. He crouched down, pulling his spear up and aiming, then a noise sounded from behind him; branches breaking and leafs rustling. The dear's head shot up briefly looking at Arthur before darting off into the distances, no chance for Arthur to throw his spear.

Arthur slowly turned his head around; already knowing what caused the sound. Stood there was Merlin, his body frozen as his face was scrunched up as he looked down at the ground.

Arthur shook his head, stomping back towards Merlin, "I should have known bringing you along was a mistake," He shoved the spear into Merlins hands walking past him "I mean you know your job is meant to make my life easier, not harder." He mocked. Arthur had told the knights to stay behind, wanting some time alone. When he'd told Merlin he was going hunting and to prepare he'd thought the boy would prepare for just Arthur but he hadn't, bringing two horses out of the stable. Arthur realised he could use Merlins help with supplies so had let him tag along, and despite Merlin's teasing, it was not because Arthur enjoyed his company. Arthur was a king, he wasn't allowed friends, especially those who were the help. Arthur found he had to remind himself of that a lot more lately. 

He walked deeper into the woods back towards where they'd left the horses, listening to make sure Merlin was following behind him, "Well if you'd let me leave some of the supplies with the horses then maybe-"

"What so they could be stolen?" Arthur called, looking behind to give Merlin a glare, not that it bothered him. Arthur swung at the overgrown bushes as they trekked back, "Your lack of intelligence really does surprise me sometimes Merlin," Arthur teased. "I mean-"

"Sire," Merlin interrupted, his footsteps coming to a halt.

Arthur sighed, turning around to look at Merlin, "What?"

Merlin gave a smug smile, nodding his head in the opposite direction, "The horses are this way," Arthur frowned, looking over to where Merlin was pointing, pouting his lips slightly. Merlin's smug smile grew more, his head tilting to the side, "What was that you were saying about my intelligence," He sarcastically asked. Arthur narrowed his eyes at Merlin, 

"Smugness is not a good look on you Merlin, not that anything is a good look on you," Arthur quickly said, starting to heading off in the  _ correct  _ direction. 

"I was thinking the same about you sire," Merlin said, Arthur turned around, giving his servant a confused look, his hand resting on the handle of his sword. "Intelligence just...does not suit you," Merlin said, with that not so innocent smile on his face. Arthur went to reply when a noise occurred ahead of them. Arthur spun around to look. He couldn't see anything but could hear branches breaking and then horses neighing. Arthur slowly drew his sword, holding it out in front of him. 

"Get behind me," He demanded as Merlin started to walk forward. Merlin gave a disapproving look going to walk forward again when Arthur held his arm out stopping him. Arthur ducked down, tentatively walking forward. Arthur could hear the hoofs of horses stomping up ahead; too many to be his and Merlins;  _ there were other people _ .

"Stay here," Arthur commanded. Arthur went to walk forward when Merlin grabbed his arm.

"Wait, it could be bandits," He whispered, crouching down next to Arthur.

"Exactly so stay here," Arthur repeated. Trying to ignore the way his stomach dropped a little at the thought of leaving Merlin alone in the forest, but it was a better option than putting him in the path of the bandits. 

Merlin frowned, shaking his head. "You'll be outnumbered you need back up"

"You have no weapon, Merlin? What are you going to do?" Arthur asked.

Merlin looked over to the side, Arthur unable to identify the expression that was on his face, his eyes seemingly darkening for a moment. "I have other uses," Merlin quietly said. The way Merlin said it caused Arthur to frown for a moment, there was a weight to the words that Arthur didn't understand. It wasn't the first time, there were times where Merlin would say something and his words would be laced with weight and meaning that Arthur didn't understand. 

Arthur pushed his question to the back of his mind, "Right now your ability to wash my clothes and clean out the horses isn't going to help," He mocked. "Now, stay here, I'll come get you when it's safe," Arthur said, giving Merlin a stern nod and look before walking forward deeper into the forest. After a moment Arthur came across a small group of bandits gathered around their horses. There were around 5 of them; all armed. Arthur slowly stood up, keeping his sword close.

"Gentlemen, can I help you?" He confidently said, walking towards the men.

The bandits all turned in unions, pulling their swords out. None of them said anything as they looked Arthur up and down, blocking the way to his and Merlin's horse. "What's a knight of Camelot doing out in these woods all alone," One of them asked, stepping forward. 

Arthur tried to stay relaxed, not wanting to provoke them further. It would be different if he had the rest of the knights but it was just him and Merlin; so technically just him. "Just doing some hunting," He said. Arthur walked closer to his horse when the men tightened around them, swords still drawn. "Now if you could move away from my horse that would be appreciated," He said, keeping his eye on all the men.

The men laughed, all looking at each other. The leader stepped closer to Arthur, his head tilted. "We were actually thinking we'd take these horses, think of it as a donation" He jeered.

The man went to turn from Arthur when Arthur walked forward, his sword held out forward. "I wouldn't do that" He warned.

The man slowly turned around, a cocky smile on his face. "Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it?" He provoked. Arthur glanced at the men, sighing internally as he realised these men weren't going to give up. Almost as if they realised the same thing, the leader lunged at Arthur with his sword. Arthur dodged out the way, spinning to the side. The man charged at Arthur, Arthur quicked forward sending the man backwards while swiping his sword to the side catching two of the men. 

As they fell to the floor Arthur save another man coming towards him. Their swords connected a few times before Arthur got the upper hand, planting his sword in the bandit's shoulder; sending him to the ground as well. In his peripheral vision, Arthur saw another bandit. He swung his sword, his blade connecting with the man's chest. Arthur heard a branch snap and turned to see the leader in front of him his sword swinging down. Arthur blocked the blow but was caught off guard, the bandit landing a punch in Arthur's stomach, instantly winding him. The man swung his blade again and Arthur stumbled back, the blade cutting across his shoulder slighting. Another blow caused Arthur to lose his footing, sending him to the ground. Arthur groaned as he looked up at the shifting sky. He went to reach his sword when a boot pinned his wrist to the ground. Arthur looked up to see the leader smiling down at him. But then Arthur noticed something or rather someone in the brushes;  _ Merlin.  _

Arthur wanted to scream at him to run, to get to safety but he didn't want to alert to rest of the bandits who were pulling themselves to their feet. Merlin wasn't looking at Arthur but above him, seemingly muttering something. Was Merlin trying to tell him something? He couldn't make out the words almost like they were another language, and then-Arthur felt his whole body tense and run could as he noticed Merlin's eyes glow gold, flickering for a second. A loud crack from above caused the bandit to look up, a huge branch crashing down onto of him. Arthur shoved himself back and grabbed his sword holding it out to the remaining bandits. The group looked at each other before dropping their own swords, clearly not up to another round, all already injured. Arthur breathed heavily as he watched them pull their leader from under the branch, slugging him onto a horse and riding off away from Arthur. Arthur panted heavily as he finally dropped his sword. He reached up and touched the wound on his shoulder, nothing serious, some stitches. It was then Merlin appeared from the bushes, walking towards Arthur.

"Yeah you're right you had that...totally handled," He sighed, pursing his lips slightly, "Weren't outnumbered at all" He joked. Arthur just stared at him for a moment;  _ his eyes were blue,  _ the same bright blue they had always been  _ not gold  _ he told himself. Arthur looked up at the tree above him, one of the large branches severed. "You're lucky that branch gave way, saved your life," He said, coming to stand by Arthur.  _ The branch gave way,  _ Arthur repeated. The sun shone through the gaps in the tree causing Arthur to squint and look down. It was then he noticed the way the light reflected off his sword,  _ It was the sun  _ he told himself. The sun had hit Merlin's eyes and in Arthurs daze, they had looked gold;  _ that made sense,  _ he told himself.

"Well it's not like you helped Merlin," Arthur said, slipping his sword back into his belt.

Arthur looked over at him to see his reaction, what was he expecting to see he wondered, it wasn't like Merlin could have done anything? "Well like you said, what could I have done?" Merlin said, holding Arthurs look.

_ What could have he done _ , Arthur asked himself. Merlin couldn't have done anything, there was no way. There was only one way that Merlin could have broken that branch and just wasn't possible,  _ it couldn't be.  _ Arthur shook his head, clearly having hit his head hard if he was even entertaining this absurd idea. 

"Were you saying something?" Arthur found himself asking, unable not to. Merlin looked over at Arthur, seemingly having no idea what he was talking about, "When you were hiding in your bush?" Arthur clarified. 

Merlin opened his mouth for a moment, shaking his head a little. Arthur studied his face looking for...it was then Arthur realised that he wasn't sure what he was looking for; guilt? worry? "Uhh, I was tell you to watch out, I could see the branch breaking," Merlin finally said, nodding to the tree above. Arthur looked up at the tree as well, nodding a little as he did _that made sense, that was logical._

Arthur walked towards his horse, wincing as he pulled himself up, deciding to finish the hunting trip early. He waited for Merlin to load the gear back onto the horse, his shoulder starting to ache as he waited. 

"By the time you've finished that Merlin I would have bled out," Arthur said, his voice thick with sarcasm. He looked over to see Merlin giving a small smile, shaking his head. 

"I'm not that lucky Sire," Merlin quipped back, but Arthur couldn't help but noticed that Merlins speed had quicken slightly. Arthur gave an amused laugh, giving a dramatic sigh as he waited. Merlin finally pulled himself upon his horse, Arthur nodding at him before heading off down the path. Arthur looked ahead playing over the scene in his mind. The bandit had hit him, he'd fallen and then Merlin had appeared. Merlin was waiting for him as he'd said. The angle Arthur was lead, his injuries and the sun had for a brief moment caused Merlins eyes to appear gold  _ but they weren't _ he reminded himself. Then Merlin had tried to warn him about the branch but he was so disoriented that he couldn't make out the words. Then finally by luck, the branch had broken and saved his life; not Merlin. Arthur quickly glanced behind him, watching as Merlin seemed to be examining the trees above, a small innocent smile on his face. Arthur gave a small snort, what was he thinking? Merlin was...Merlin and that was all;  _ right? _

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU for reading, I really appreciated it, any kudos and comments are also appreciated 💞
> 
> -AJ


End file.
